D23: Sorcerer's Apprentice Impressions

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Nic Cage meets Fantasia? Our thoughts on the Disney panel.

By Christopher Monfette

Nic Cage made an appearance at today's D23 Expo to talk up his upcoming film, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, drawn from Disney's classic and much-loved animated masterpiece, Fantasia. Credited as both a star and producer of the film, Cage is deeply involved in the production, directed by his National Treasure collborator, Jon Turteltaub.

"To me," said Cage, "Fantasia is the most beautiful movie ever made. I watch it ever year when I want to transport myself into Disney's magical world of color and sound...A day like September 9/11 puts in focus what I want to accomplish as a producer. When times get tough, it's increasingly important to make movies that will keep children smiling."

While Cage did not show a trailer for the film, he did show an EPK-style presentation complete with a significant amount of footage from the film. Put aside all the talking heads and what's left was a rather impressive-looking, magical action-adventure film. Cage, as the sorcerer Balthazar Blake, enlists comic actor Jay Baruchel as his reluctant and disbeliving apprentice to fight the forces of evil, personified here by Alfred Molina as Horvath.

The major sequences implied by the quasi-trailer were a massive battle in New York's Chinatown in which an asian warrior transforms into a giant dragon...Another sequence looked like a car chase in which the cars in question could transform into other kinds of moving vehicles...Central Park appears to be the location of another magical battle...There are glowing sigils and flaming mystic symbols galore...And, of course, there are a number of "training sequences" in which Baruchel discovers his evolving magical powers, leading to a Fantasia homage in which the budding wizard makes a number of mops dance around the room.

Overall, the footage looked like this were a dark, though family-friendly adventure. It wasn't enough to get a real sense of the project, but seeing Cage with long hair and a Fu Man Chu beared makes us think this might be another one for the Nic Cage Hair Salon.

Lastly, Disney film president Dick Cook asked Cage, "Here in front of 5,000 people...Will you do another National Treasure movie?" to which Cage replied, "Absolutely!"